My Double-Boiler Cooking Solution

As I recently shared in a previous blog post, I don’t take naturally to cooking. Like many of you, I also don’t typically have time to prepare from-scratch meals. On the other hand, I also really enjoy ordering out. Here is what I do to prepare some easy at-home dinners for the week.

Buy a whole cooked chicken, and if possible have the market cut it into four pieces. Along with that, buy about 1/2 lb. of cooked turkey (of course organic is best). Divide the lot into six separate glass containers, and put them in the freezer. That’s one container for each of the four pieces of whole chicken and one each for about ¼ lb of turkey. If I will be eating alone, this gives me six days of meat, which I defrost as needed and would probably consume during a one-three week period. Often, I also buy some cooked brown rice, quinoa, or a potato.

If you choose to have a potato, press “bake” to preheat the oven, wash & prick the yam or russet potato, stick into the oven and put on the timer for an hour or so. If you want a grain food instead of a potato, place some of the cooked rice or quinoa along with one portion of the cooked meat into the top of a double boiler or double-boiler arrangement, and add some water or broth. Along with that, include garlic, rosemary and cayenne pepper (my basics). Other herbs such as sage, thyme, tarragon, cumin, basil, ginger, etc., can be used. Sometimes I use curry – be creative, use whatever seasonings you have or prefer. After that, turn on the stovetop, and when it seems to be heating up, lower to simmer & ignore!

While that is cooking, I cut up enough vegetables for two days at a time, so the next time I eat dinner at home I don’t have to start from scratch. I know some people eat eight servings of vegetables every day and I’m sure that’s a very healthy thing to do, but I’m just not up to all that work most of the time. I eat large portions of two to four veggies at a time, always including a dark green leafy and some color variety for health and “presentation.” And voila! – Does my double-boiler, keep it easy formula, appeal to you? Share your own cooking shortcuts with us!